The decision to drop Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan to accomodate Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil, respectively, opened up a fluidity of attack Arsenal were lacking in previous weeks of the Premier League. Granted they put two past Chelsea and three past West Ham, but neither of those two sides are particularly solid at the back.

Cardiff, unlike West Ham, are well organised defensively and have only conceded two goals so far this season. Until today, when Lacazette‘s prowess in a central striker’s role more than doubled that tally.

The decision to move Aubameyang out wide also liberated the Gabonese forward creatively, permitting him more of a roaming role. Emery may see today as the beginning of an attacking blueprint that could reap serious rewards in the future.

Aubameyang out wide, brings the best out of him and Lacazette

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal celebrates his goal against Cardiff, having forged a fruitful partnership with Alexandre Lacazette (Getty Images)

For much of the game, the setup threatened without fruition. Arsenal’s breakthrough came from a set piece at the very start of the 11th minute, as Shkodran Mustafi’s bullet header from the corner hit the roof of Neil Etheridge’s net.

Lacazette showed nimble feet and trickery, a much needed asset absent from Arsenal’s hold up play with Aubemeyang, as well as the tenacity and strength to hold off defenders. Counterattacks were more promising as they were allowed to develop into the final third with support runners, rather than fizzling out from a poor touch. A backheel from a near post corner to Aaron Ramsey exhibited his acute awareness of his teammates’ positioning and his selflessness.

The Frenchman is also a threat in the penalty area. He showed immense strength to hold off two Cardiff defenders to make space for an overhead kick at one point, after the ball dropped like a bomb into the six yard box. He was unlucky not to get his effort on target, but had done brilliantly well to deny any defender a clearing header in the first place.

His goal, a total top-right rocket that Neil Etheridge didn’t have a chance of reaching at such close range, speaks for itself.

Lacazette also drops deep and offers early, rather than always looking for a through ball, which allowed Ozil and Aubameyang to get further forward. He also allows Ramsey to run past him, as a 55th minute flick-on which unlocked the Cardiff defence showed – two decent shots arose from the neat interplay as well as a subsequent corner.

His striking from range was also a threat, hitting the post from outside the area in the 32nd minute. The opportunity was partly engineered by the fact he comes deep to collect the ball from midfield. Allowing Ozil and Aubameyang to overlap him makes defenders commit to them, and opens up space for a shot.

When they come to Lacazette, as they did for Aubameyang’s goal from outside the area – he has the skill to bypass them with neat flicks. Indeed, the most appealing part of insisting upon Lacazette as striker is that Aubameyang seems to be functioning better in a wide role with good service to, and from, Lacazette. He has license to drift in and out of central areas and start counter attacks with wide runs for channel through balls, knowing there is a supporting option centrally. It works better for both strikers.

Defensive frailty remains

Danny Ward of Cardiff City celebrates after scoring against Arsenal (Getty Images)

The only question it raises is how much of a burden the shape places on Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal. Bellerin, not the most defence-oriented of wing-backs leaked crosses all game and was far too easy to take on, while Monreal struggled to juggle defensive duties in such an attacking setup. In many ways, this is simply symptomatic of the immense demands placed on modern wing-backs in possession-based attacking football. Arsenal could look to the investment made by Manchester City and Pep Guardiola as an indicator that it is a role the club has undervalued and underinvested in for far too long.

Indeed, Cardiff’s equaliser at the end of the second half arrived from a cross from the left wing, Bellerin was caught in two minds with two men to mark, and a cross found Victor Camarasa in the area after a brief aerial scuffle. Camarasa blasted it into the roof of the helpless Petr Cech’s net.

Brighton’s second goal was a simple set piece. A central free kick about 40 yards out, crossed wide and knocked back to the penalty spot for Danny Ward to head into the corner. It raises further questions of Arsenal’s defence, but at least it wasn’t an open play or positional issue.

Overall Unai Emery can be content with the way Arsenal’s attack is ticking again. They are scoring goals and creating lots of chances, which bodes well – the issues, as always with Arsenal, remain in defence.

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